Winter Gas Package Commercial Terms Acceptable for Kiev

Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said that Kiev accepts the commercial terms of the initialled trilateral protocol on the deliveries of Russian gas.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Kiev accepts the commercial terms of the initialled trilateral protocol on the deliveries of Russian gas, Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said Friday.

Earlier, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission Vice President for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, initialled the gas supplies protocol of 2 billion cubic meters from Russia’s Gazprom to Ukraine.

“Commercial conditions [of the trilateral protocol] are acceptable for the Ukrainian side and from my side, I can confirm that they will be very supportive for our economy,” Demchyshyn said at a press conference.

Demchyshyn noted that Naftogaz has received $500 million from Kiev for the purchase of Russian gas.

“The money is already in the account of Naftogaz, so it is available. It is specifically dedicated to this particular deal and it will be used for acquiring gas from Gazprom,” Demchyshyn said at a press conference.

The sides expressed confidence the full winter package deal will be signed shortly.

Previously, Sefcovic said European financial institutions will allocate $500 million for Ukraine to store 2 billion cubic meters of Russia’s natural gas under the initialled protocol.